Method and means for generating power



y 1, 1945. F. E. SMITH 2,374,710

METHOD AND MEANS FOR GENERATING POWER Filed Oct. 26, 1940 8 Sheets-Sheet. l

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METHOD AND MEANS FOR GENERATING POWER Filed Oct. 26, 1940 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 COMPRESSED AIR "cans-R Q 5 M1 MS I V 30 lg.

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May 1, 1945. F. E. SMITH 2,374,710

A METHOD AND MEANS FOR GENERATINGIOWER Filed Oct. 26, 1940 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 GEARS 07012 INVENTOR FRANK ESMITH BY ATTONEY May 1, 1945.

F. E. SMITH METHOD AND MEANS FOR GENERATING POWER Filed Oct. 26, 1940 8 Sheets-Sheet 6 O I Li -322;

INVENTOR FRANK ESMITH BY v TORNEY May 1, 1945. F. E, SMITH 2,374,710

METHOD AND MEANS FOR GENERATING POWER Filed Oct. 26, 1940 s Sheets-Sheet 7 l llllllllllllllhl 1: luv/em FraizKESmZZ/z Patented May 1, 1945 METHOD AND MEANS FOR GENERATING POWER Frank E. Smith, Niagara Falls, N. Y.

Application October 26, 1940, Serial No. 363,031

18 Claims.

system. The invention also relates to a method of transforming the energy of combustion of a fuel into useful work. The invention also relates to a variety of apparatuses capable of accomplishing the said method with technical and economic efficiency. The invention also relates to a method of and means for making steam. The invention also relates to a method of and means for supplying an expansible gas to an engine capable of transforming the energy of expansion of a gas into useful work.

It is an object of my invention to provide a power generator capable of producing a continuous supply of conditioned expansible gas. Another object is to produce a new and useful gas for the operation of expansible chamber engines. Another object is to provide a new method and apparatus for generating power. Another object is to transform the heat of combustion of the fuel into useful work with higher efliciency than is accomplished by prior,art devices. Other objects of the invention are in part apparent and will in part be set forth hereinafter.

The objects of the invention are accomplished, generally speaking, by burning a combustible substance in a closed chamber to substantial completion, adding thereto a liquid having high energy of expansion as a gas, in quantities and at times calculated to temper the heat and maintain or increase the efiiciency of the charge, removing undesired constituents from the charge, and delivering the charge to an engine or series of engines, capable of transforming the energy of expansion of a gas into mechanical motion.

The objects of the invention are also accomplished byan apparatus in which the charging contains cooperating openings through which the charges are fed, and in which the sealing of the apparatus i accomplished by fluid pressure rather than by pressure rings or the like.

In the accompanying drawings, which are intended to be illustrative rather than working drawings, Figure 1 is a section on the line l-l of Figure 2; Figure 2 is a section on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 Figure 3 is a sectional view of the power generator taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing ports in section; Figure 4 is a section through a regenerative washer; Figure 5 is a section on the line 5--5 of Figure 4; Figure 6 is a diagrammatic development of the stages of operation of a chamber; Figure 7 is an arrangement of the power plant utilizing my power generator; Figure 8 is a cross-section of a. crude type of apparatus embodying certain principles of my invention; Figure 9 is a section on line 99 of Figure 8; Figure 10 shows the adaptation of certain principles to a different crude form of apparatus. Figure 11 is an elevation, partly in verticle section, of a preferred form of apparatus; Figure 11A is a vertical sectional view of the pressure balancing apparatus shown in Figure 11; Figure 11B is a plan view, partly in section, thereof on the plane 11B of Figure 11A; Figure 12 is a horizontal section on the line l2-l2 of Figure 11; Figure 13 is a modification of the apparatus for high speed work. Fig. 14 is a view similar to Fig. 11 in many aspects but showing the clutch me chanism in section.

In the drawings like numerals show like parts. I 0 is a circular casing'or dome; H is the bottom of the casing having a port l2 and a conical bottom l3; I4 is a circular head fitting the top of the casing l0; I5 are bolts to hold the head onto the casing; l6 are passages in the head, for the circulation of cooling water; I! is a water supply conduit similar to l2 but connecting'with the interior of the casing; H1 is a pipe leading from the interior of the casing;.;.=l 8 is a. pipe connecting the chamber H5 in the head with the pipe i ll; I9 is a steam header; 20 are holes through the head arranged circularly about the center thereof, there being six of them in the preferred form of the invention; 2| are holes through the head, there being five of them arranged as will be hereinafter described; 22 is a centering bearing located about the center of the head and extending therethrough; 30 is an annular rotor; 3| is a shaft of the rotor mounted in the centering bearing 22; 32 is a wheel for driving the shaft 3| and turning the rotor; 33 is a power-driven pulley and belt,.or the like, for turning thewheel 32; 34 may be considered'a circular web" or plate connected to the bottom o f the shaft 3|. Annulus 30 together with the plate 34 is H-shaped in vertical section as shown in Figure 2. The annulus has a slight clearance between the circular memher 23 of the head and the sides of the casing.

'35 arepressure rings mounted in the annulus and bearing against the casing; 351 are pressure rings mounted in the portion 23 of the head making sealing contact with the annulus; 36 are drillings from the bottom to the top of the annulus, nine such drillings being shown as an efllcient number. These drillings are reduced at the top to -orm a neck 31; 38 are combustion chamber linings of heat resisting material, such as carborundum, which exactly fit the drillings 36; 39.

is a ring attached by bolts 40 to the bottom of the annulus 30 serving to keep the combustion chambers 38 in place; 4| is a hole drilledthrough the annulus inwardly of, and connected with, the drilling 36. Each drilling 36 is provided with the auxiliary hole 4|; 42 is a pipe carried in the carborundum combustion chamber which is seated in an enlarged section of the drilling 4i and which projects inwardly to a portion close to the bottom of the combustion chamber; dotted lines 43 indicate holes drilled through the annulus 30 to provide the cooling passages in proximity to the chambers.

Figure 6 is a developed projection upon a fiat surface of the device, designed to show it operation. In that figure the first position, A, shows the chamber 38 being charged through a port 20 with compressed air. The second position, B, shows the chamber, having been charged with compressed air, being charged through port 20a with fuel, such a gasoline. The third position, C, shows the chamber making contact with a spark plug which ignites the charge. Position D indicates the chamber sealed while the charge is given time to burn. Position E shows the chamber being charged through tube- 2| with water under pressure. At position F the chamber is being discharged through the port 20bwhile water under pressure is forced in through tube 2la. At position G the chamber is being exhausted through port 200 while being simultaneously charged with water through tube 2|b. In position H the chamber is being exhausted through port 20d while being charged with water under pressure through port 2 lo. At position I the chamber is being scavenged of residuary gases through Me by steam formed from water injected through tube Zld.

In Figures 4 and is shown the regenerative washer. From the port 20b the high pressure gases pass to a regenerative washer which is in-- dicated generally as 50. 5| i a hot plate which deflects the gases and extracts from them particles of carbon and the like which are caught in the trap 52 and may be removed through the valve 53; 54 is' an elbow in the pipe which reverses the direction of the gases as shown by the arrows;

55 'are heat transfer tubes arranged in the passageway about which the gases pass; 56 is a washer to be kept filled with water at high preconduit 60.

r This device cleans the gases, reduces them to a condition containing wet steam at the temperature. and pressure in the chamber 56, and superheats them by passage through tubes 55. This through belt and pulley 33 to turn the shaft 3|. The shaft 3| is mounted in a centering bearing. The planar faces of the head and rotor are kept in sealing contact by fluid pressure. The word planar is not intended as a limitation to a flat surface, but more properly to a surface formed by the rotation of a straight line about a center. The surfaces so formed can be cylindrical, conical, or fiat, conical being preferred. If the resultant of the total pressures from the chamber is well within the middle third of the total pressures from the bottom, there will be no tendency for the two units to separate at their surface. The cooling water pump, the air compressor, the fuel pump, and the magneto are started. The magneto need not be set to coincide with the arrival of the chambers beneath the spark plug but may beset tospark with such rapidity that no chamber will pass beneath the plug without being subjected to at least one spark. It can be timed if desirable. However, an object of my invention is to produce a device which is a nearly automatic is function as possible, requiring no valves and a minimum of timing apparatus, so in the preferred form of my invention no timer will be needed. The air compressor drives intothe tube 20 air under high pressure. The distance between chamber necks is such that the opening 20 in the head will not bridge two chambers. When a chamber comes in contact with the tube 20, it is automatically charged with air under pressure The residuary steam in the chamber is simultaneously condensed as is shown in positions A and B of Figure 6. After the chamber rotates out of contact with the tube 20, it comes in beneath the tube 20a through which gasoline, alcohol, fuel oil, or powdered coal is injected in an amount and at a velocity sufiicient to produce a perfect combustible mixture in a state of high turbulence. During these steps of the process, the tube 4l-42 is sealed at its upper end by the planar surface of the head. When the charged chamber reaches position C, it is ignited by sparks from the plug. Any other satisfactory known method of igniting charges under compression may be employed.

After it is ignited, the chamber passes to position D during which the burning continues to substantial completion, the chamber being completely sealed.

Shortly after the device has been started in op- .eration, the water pump for injection is started regenerative washer can be eliminated from the apparatus, if hotter, less perfectly conditioned gases are wanted,

My power generator operates as follows: The drive for the burning unit is started and operates and as the chamber, whose operation I am describing, comes to position E, a charge of water under pressure passes through the tube 2| and the tube 4 l42 into the chamber where it is vaporized by the hot gases. This serves the double function of reducing the excessive heat of combustion below that at which it will melt the surfaces in contact with it, and of producing a high pressure within the chamber. As the chamber reaches position F, it is alined with tube 20b and 2la in the head. Tube 20b is the high pressure take-off. Tube! I a gives a. further injection of water which helps to expel the charge, control the temperature, and simultaneously to produce further steam within the chamber. As the chamber reaches position G thetube 200 receives the intermediate pressure from the chamber and tube Zlbcharges the chamber with additional water, further tempering the temperature, and producing more steam. At position H the contents of the chamsoot, and tar. but in order to scavenge the chamber completely, it is passed to position I where additional water is injected into the chamber in quantities sumcient to blow rcsiduary particles and spent gases out through the opening c by the formation of steam.

The apparatus is designedly without valves. Each operation is begunand ended'with direct contact of the openings in the chamber and the head. During the operation of the device, there will be a certain amount of unbalanced pressure on the side having positions D and E, but this is insufficient to overcome the pressure of the fluids against the bottom of the rotor. It is intended in the preferred form of the invention that the load shall be balanced by fluid pressure against the bottom of the rotor. For this .purpose pressure rings seal the top of the rotor so that the pressure within the chambers, if it escapes from the chamber past the planar faces of the head and rotor, cannot escape from the apparatus. Likewise, the outer rings prevent the fluid pressure beneath the rotor from passing thereabove and conversely. The cooling water is forced by a pump through the opening 12 into a chamber where it serves to cool the rotor to a point suflicient to maintain its strength and also serves to hold the rotor in sealing contact with the head. Water becomes heated and turns to steam under certain conditions of operation and, as indicated in-Figure 2, when that happens, the steam is collected in the steam header l9. Thus the flow of cooling water in the arrangement is from the water pump to the base of the casing and to the steam header in the form of steam. By similar conduit I 1 water enters the head, steam therefrom being carried to the header by the pipe l0. Water collecting in the header by condensation or otherwise may be drained off from time to time through suitable drain cocks, notv shown; but under conditions of normal operation no water will be found there except in the form of steam.

Looking now at the arrangement (Figure '7), the air compressor, fuel pump and water injector force their respective charges into the chambers in sequence, from which they are discharged into the high pressure take-off, the intermediate pressure take-off, and the low pressure take-off. The charge in the high pressure'take-ofi goes into the regenerative washer and to the high pressure engine. The regenerative washer is so called because the heat in the charge coming to it is first reduced by passage through water and then regenerated by passage through tubes about which fresh hot charges are passing. This regenerative washer is the last cleaning and tempering step in the conditioning of the charge. As it leaves this apparatus it is an ideal medium for the operation of turbine, expansible chamber or other gas operated engines. The intermediate pressure take-oh, steam from the steam header and the exhaust from the high pressure engine, are mixed and conducted to an intermediate pressure engine, the exhaust from which is in turn mixed with gases from the low pressure take-off and sent to a low pressure. engine. The exhaust from the low pressure engine, which still contains heat, goes to an ordinary water tube heat exchanger where the water supply is given a preliminary heating.

By my arrangement not only the heat of combustion which is retained in the contents of the chambers, but that which escapes through the walls is used in theproduction of gssunder Pressure.

The water charges to be used in the various stages of the engine can be varied by due variation in the size of the openings through which they are admitted. Alternatively openings of standard size can be used and appropriate adjustable valves of the needle or other type can be used to measure the charge which is admitted in each position as shown in Figure 2 at IIV. The device need not have three takeoifs but may have a lesser or a greater number, depending upon the engineering requirements of a particular project.

The foregoing apparatus can be used with great efilciency in an inverted position, that is with the head downward. When so used, the cooling water is kept about the rotor where its efiect is needed, and solid particles of carbon and the like are more easily ejected from the combustion chambers. In normal operation, therefore, the apparatus shown in the drawings will be inverted. The only change necessary to accomplish this is to connect the present steam outlets from the head and casing to the present water lines from the pumps, conversely connecting the present inlets in the head and casing to the steam header. Some slight rearrangement in the location of the ports may be necessary to secure the most favorable operation.

A preferred form of the invention, embodying the inverted principle, is shown in Figures 11 and 12. In those figures 300 is ,a casing; 30l is a head; 302 are bolts connecting .the head and the casing; 303 is a rotor; 304 is a conical machined face forming part of the head; 305 is a conforming conical machined face forming part of the rotor; the head has an outer ring 306 and an inner chamber 301 which are separated from each other by the circular wall 308; 306A represents the chamber surrounding the rotor; 309 is a chamber lining of refractory material; 3l0 are ports through the head, alined with the openings in the chambers, for the purposes of charging and discharging as hereinbefore explained; 3 are the ports for the admission of expansible fluids so arranged that the admission of the expansible fluid takes place at a point remote from the opening in the face; 3|! are inlets for cooling water into the chambers 306 of the outer ring of the head; 3l3 are ports through the said ring admitting the cooling water to the interior of the casing 300. This chamber is preferably provided with a means for maintaining a definite water level. Such means are well known in the art of steam engines and will not be specifically described in this connection. 3 is a conduit for the admission of cooling water to the central chamber 301 of the head; 3|! are openings from the chamber into the space 3l6 formed by the inner cylindrical wall of the rotor. This space need not be provided with a means for maintaining the cooling water below a definite level because any excess will flow out of the tube 318 and through a simple water. trap locatedin a low point of that tube; the water trap being of any satisfactory, known variety is not shown; 3|! is a conduit for withdrawing steam from the casing; 3"! is a conduit or tube for withdrawing steam from the space M6; M9 is a tube for injecting cooling water upon certain central portions of the rotor; 320 is a circular removable cap piece on the chamber, whose removal permits the replacement of the chamber linings; 329 are bolts holding the cap piece in place.

The operation of the device will be sumciently understood from the preceding description. This form of the invention has the following advantages: If fuel contains ash and carbon or if solid particles are left by the burning, it'is easier to remove such particles from the bottom than from the top. It is easier to scavenge chambers so arranged. The considerations of centrifugal force also enter this design. For example, if the member is to be rotated at 600 R. P. M. and a radius to the outside of the chamber of 9 in., centrifugal force will equal about '70 times gravity. At such speeds, consequently, it is desirable to form the chambers as shown in Figure 13 in order that the chambers themselves by their construction have a scavenging tendency due to the centrifugal forces set up by rotation.

The refractory material for the walls of the chambers may be formed separately and slid into position or they may be formed of plastic material and allowed to harden in'the chamber.

There are many forces acting upon the rotor,

some of which tend to force it against the head and of which others tend to force it awayfrom the head. The pressure within the casing and outside the rotor, which is equal to the pressure from the pump and from the steam which is formed by evaporation, acts to thrust the rotor against the head. The high pressures generated within the combustion chambers are opposed by pressures of similar magnitude outside the chambers so that the tendency of the pressures within to leak at the joint are opposed more successfully than they would be by pressure rings. The conical faces of thehead and rotor center the rotor so that a centering bearing is not needed. The charges within the chambers tend to separate the faces. operation which would occur frequently, the total pressure outside the rotor would-so greatly exceed the pressure within the chamber that unnecessary friction would be set up between the faces. It is, therefore, advisable to provide a means for adjusting the pressure between the faces so that they will'just be maintained in sealing contact.

This is accomplished by the apparatus which will now be described.

In Figure 11 and Figure 14, 320 is a valve in the pipe 3!!! which has heretofore been described;

32I is a valve stem;-322 is a block pivoted on trunnions 323 in which the valve stem 32! is slidably mounted; 324 is a spring between the block and plate 325 which is aflixed to the valve stem. By raising and lowering the block 322 the pressure on the spring 324 and on the valve 320 can be decreased or increased, respectively. If it is increased, a greater pressure in space 3|6 and pipe 3? will be required to displace the valve; if it is decreased, a less pressure in the pipe 3l8 will displace the valve. By this means, therefore,

the pressure in the space 3H5 can be varied. The

remaining description will explain how it is varied so as t maintain a substantially constant and slight friction between the faces of the rotor and the head.

Motor in Figure 11 is a. motor; Gear is a speed reducing gear; 330 is a, plate driven by the speed reducing gear; 33l is one member of a spring controlled screw clutch for transmitting the motion of the plate 330 to the rotor; 338 is the second member of the spring controlled screw clutch. The member 33! is attached by bolts 332 to the member 330. 333 is a shaft aflixed to the rotor passing freely through the member 33l; 334 is a nut on the end of the shaft 333 which also makes However, under certain conditions of no contact with the member 33L The member 338 is a screw threaded in the member 33| by a thread of long pitch, and keyed to the shaft 333 by key 335, but is slidable lengthwise of the shaft. Between the member 338 and a member 338 aifixed to the shaft, is a coil spring 331. 340 is a lever pivoted to fixedsuppo 't 34!; the lever is preferably made of twoarms, connected together by crosspieces 342, which carry in their ends the trunnions 323 of block 322; 343 is a ring mounted in member 338; 344 are trunnions in the said ring mounted in the arms of the lever.

If the pressure per square inch in chambers 3l6 and the combustion chambers, that is the combined pressure within the rotor, is equal to the pressure per square inch in chamber 306A, the friction between the abutting conical faces may needlessly retard the turning of the rotor because the differential between the inner and outer pressures may be too great. As the motor tries to turn it, the parts of the screw clutch move with respect to one another compressing the main spring and moving the arm 340 down against the spring 324 so that a greater pressure in space 3H5 and pipe'3l8 is necessary to lift the valve 011 its seat. The pressure within the rotor then rises until it is sufficient to counteract the excess pressure exerted on the outside of the rotor by the spring 331 and the pressure within the casing. In general, it is intended that the pressure should be generated by the formation of steam within the chamber itself but other means of increasing the pressure, for instance, by increasing the liquid pressure from without, by increasing the pressure exerted by the water pumps, may be adopted. As the load is relieved by the increase of pressure within, freer rotation of the rotor starts, the main spring expands, the fulcrum arm springs up, the valve spring pressure is reduced until the 40 steam in pipe 3l8 leaks past the valve 320 at a rate which keeps the pressures so balanced that substantially free rotation of the rotor is insured while at the same time the faces are maintained in sealing contact. In general it will be found satisfactory to change the springs if a different relationship of pressure is desired. By the correct selection of springs. this adjustment may be very fine.

The pipe 350, which is shown beyond the valve 320, may be connected with the pipe 3" under some circumstances and under other circumstances it may be made to discharge into the air or to any other space where it can be utilized.

As the motor drives the gear in a clockwise direction, viewed from above, the member 33l drives the member 338 through the friction which exists between. their interfitting screw threads. When the total pressure which tends to force the member 303 against the seat 304 increases to a point where the speed of the rotor is reduced, the member 33| will turn faster than the member 338, forcing the member 338 down, compr ssing the spring 331 and through the arms 340 compressing the spring 324 so that the valve 320 is held with greater force upon its seat. The pressure within space 3l6, which is a force tendin to separate the element 303 from the face 304, increases since it is confined by the valve 320, until it, together with the other forces tending to separate the faces, balances the pressure acting upon the outside of the rotor. While this is occurring, the friction between the screw threads of the clutch pressure between the rotor and the face 304, whereupon elements 33I and 338 rotate again as one element. The pressure in 316 continues to increase, being confined by the valve 320, until it unseats the valve. As the valve is unseated, it compresses the spring 324 and acts through arm 340 to move the element 338 upward on the screw of element 33I.

In order for the device to operate, the gen erator 303 must be turned and must remain in sealing contact with the face 304. There are many changing conditions which increase or decrease the power required to rotate the generator and which make it advisable to employ means to equalize the power requirements. As indicated in Figure 2, a direct motor drive may be used without such equalizing means provided the motor used is large enough. In general, however, it is of advantage to use a powerequalizing means in order to employ a smaller motor. For example, when the rotor is started, there may be no high explosive pressures in the chambers to help relieve the pressure which forces the rotor against the face 304 and which, consequently, would cause greater friction and require more power for rotation. The means used to balance this pressure must be such that the pressure outside the rotor will be greater than the pressure inside, although the differential need not be great. Otherwise, the rotor would be unseated and the pressures within the combustion chambers would escape. To accomplish this purpose I have devised the apparatus shown in Figures 11, 11A, and 11B. In those figures the chamber 3|6, which is under pressure as has been hereinabove described, is connected through pipes 3l8, 350, and 311 to chamber 306A, but there is placed in that pipe line a valve which is capable of raising the pressure in chamber 316 by sealing the pressures within chamber 3I6 where they accumulate. Similarly the pressure in chamber 316 is reduced by the unseating of the sealing valve. In order to keep the pressures in chambers 305A and 3l6 in proper relation, there is employed the construction found in the upper part of Figure 11 and in Figures 11A and 11B, and whose construction has hereinbefore been given. By this means the total forces between the faces of the rotor and stator are maintained at a reasonably constant figure.

The lubrication of the device is cared for by be of any satisfactory type. E is an engine operable by the energy of expansion of a gas. 201 is a cylindrical casing; 202 is a port through which the compressor C forces a gas, such as air, a tube Cl connecting the discharge port of the compressor C with the injector port 202; 22l is a pipe through which a fuel, such as vaporized gasoline, is forced into the port to mingle with the compressed air therein and form a combustible mixture. 2 is a rotor which conforms closely to the interior of the cylindrical casing Compression rings 212 prevent the passage of gas beyond the ends of the rotor; 2I3 are spaced chambers in the rotor; 214 are high pressure packings or compression rings of suitable type which prevent the escape the injection of water containing a small amount of soap or other organic compounds which act in a, manner similar to cutting lubricants in I machine shop practice. Both the water and organic compounds are evaporated under the conditions of temperature and pressure but evaporation is so slow that the lubricants are carried sufliciently far to perform the function.

The openings of the rotor may all coincidentally make contact with the openings of the head, but it is advisable to arrange the spacing so that they make sequential rather than coincidental connection.

The faces of the rotor and the head can conveniently be made of stellite, a cobalt alloy, which maintains its hardness even. at red heat and which is resistant to oxidation. High speed steel can also be used.

A relatively crude method of utilizing certain principles of the invention was disclosed in my original copending case, in which Figures 12 and 13 correspond with Figures 8 and 9 hereof. .In those figures C is 'a' compressor, which may of gas from chamber to chamber. 203 is a port clockwise of the injector port 202; 231 is a spark plug in the said port 203; 204 is a port clockwise of port 203; 24! is a pipe communicating with said port. 205 is a port clockwise of 204; 25! is a pipe connecting port 205 with engine E; 206 isa port clockwise of port 205; 26I is a pipe connecting said port with engine not shown; 20'! is a port clockwise of port 206; communicating with the air.

I the operation of the device air is forced under pressure by compressor C through pipe CI and port 202 into a chamber 2I3. Simultaneously a fuel, such as vaporized gasoline, fuel oil, powdered coal, alcohol, is forced through pipe 22| into port 202 and chamber 213 in a quantity measured by devices not shown to constitute with the compressed air received through pipe Cl a substantially perfect combustible mixture. The rotor 2 is turned by shaft 215 continuously and, after being filled with a combustible mixture, the chamber 2|3 .passes out of contact with the injector port 202 and into contact with the firing port 203. From this port a spark plug 231 or other suitable igniting device fires the contents of the chamber 213. If a spark plug is used, a distributor 2|6 wilt be operatively connected to the shaft 2I5 to fire each chamber as it comes in conjunction with the port 203. After firing, the contents of the chamber are under very high pressure. At an intermediate point of this combustion, the pipe 241 injects through port 204 a preferably atomized quantity of water which has the function of reducing the excess temperature of the chamber and of furnishing a mixture of steam and combustion gases which has great energy of expansion. It will be understood that a, high pressure pump will be used to inject the water into the chamber. The space between port 203 and port 205 and the rate at which the rotor is turned are selected so that a. substantially complete combustion of gases and a substantially complete vaporization of the water in the chamber will have occurred and hence the maximum of operable energy collected in the chamber before the chamber contacts the discharge port 205. When the chamber comes in contact with port 205, the gases discharge through the said port to the engine E or they may discharge, as indicated by the broken pipe,

into a pressure reservoir from which the engine will draw its operating gases. The chamber 2|3 still contains a quantity of gas at lower pressure which is discharged through port 206' to a engine operable by gas at lower pressures; Thereafter, the chamber is in contact through port 201 with the air through which the burnt gases exhaust until the pressure in the chamber is reduced to atmospheric.

To control the injection of fuel into the port 202 and to synchronize that injection with the movement of the chambers, a cam 2H on shaft 2|! through roller 2", arm 2"! and lever 222 operates to close and open a valve in the pipe 22 I In Figure 10 isshown another type of burner involving a casing I00, two rotors NI, two spark plugs 102, two high test fuel injection tnbes 102, charging port 104, and oppositely placed discharge port 105. The fuel is injected into the chambers formed by the rotors 10! and the casing, the

spark plugs are actuated by the distributor (not shown) mounted on one of the shafts of the rotors, and the combustion products are moved into conjunction with and discharged through the port I05.

, It will be seen that the device involves the principle of preparing a combustible fuel, injecting the fuel into a chamber from which it can escape only after having been burned, igniting the fuel by means of a spark plug or by means of the injection of a flame into the chamber, or by increasing the pressure until spontaneous combustion occurs, injecting water into the chamber in a quantity suificient to control the temperature and to provide a useful quantity of steam in the compressed gas, and discharging the contents to an apparatus capable ofutilizing expansl ble gases.

This-a paratus and process include many new principles; The injection of water into a chamber containing a burning charge after substantial completion of the combustion to produce a mixture of combustion products an steam at high pressures; the-reduction of excess heat within the combustion chamber by the direct injection of a vaporizable liquid; the system of burning the charge for an internal combustion engine in a chamber apart from the engine; each of the ap-. Y

paratus and the principles thereof as described; the system of energy conversion diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 7.

In the typical internal combustion engine of the present advanced design having an operating speed of about 3000 R. P. M., only about onefifth of the complete cycle is available for the burning of the charge which, at 3000 R. P.v M., means that combustion must be completed in about it of a second, during which time the work must also be done. In my generator a burns ing time of A, of a second for slow burning fuels and $5 to $6 of a second for fast burning fuels,*. is recommended, but, any selected burning time can be obtained by rotating the burner at the, proper speed. The energy recovery of internal combustion engines is less than the energy of combustion of the hydrogen in the fuel alone,

which means that the energy of combustion of 1 the carbon, which is more than double the energy of combustion of the hydrogen, is totally wasted. My system converts more of the energy of combustion to the potential energy of expansion of a gas than any prior system known to me. Although the energy released in my unit is sufilcient to bring the temperature of the charge to,

the neighborhood of 3000 F., the materials available do notpermit the use of such temperatures; consequently, it is advisable to operate at temperatures in the neighborhood of 1000, th difference in temperature being recovered by generating useful steam to form a part of the charge, asIhaveshown. 9 .1

As many apparently widely. different embodiments of this invention may be'made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that I do not limit myself to the specific embodiments thereof except as defined in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. In a power generating system, a chamber capable of containing a combustible material;

means for injecting a combustible material into said chamber under pressure; means to ignite the said material in said chamber; means to inject water into said chamber; means to withdraw a portion of said charge at high pressure; means to' withdraw a portion of said charge at lower pressure; means to deliver said high pressure charge to an engine; means to circulate a vaporizable liquid about said chamber; means to hold said fluid in liquid and vapor states; and means to deliver the said vapor, the exhaust from said engine, and the lower pressure charge to another engine.

2. A power generator having a casing, the casing having a head with a planar face; hearings in the casing of which one is in the head; a shaft mounted in the said bearings; a member within the casing rotatable by the shaft and having a planar face bearing against the planar face of the head;- chambers'within the member lined with heat resistant material and having openings in the said planar face; tubes in the chambers having openings in the said planar face; openings in the head in the path of the chamber openings; openings in the head in the path of the tube openings; certain of said openings in the head containing the ingredients of a combustible charge under pressure sufficient to charge the chambers; means to fire the charged chambers; certain of said openings containing water under pressure sufiicient for injection into the chambers; each chamber being successively charged, fired, watered, discharged, and scavenged through the said openings; and means to supply thecasing and head with water at pressure sufllcient to maintain'the sealing contact of the rotor with the head under all conditions of normal operation, and at a temperature that will maintain the strength of the apparatus. 3. A power generator comprising a rotatable member containing a number of chambers lined with heat-resistant material, means to rotate the 50 member, said chambers having openings in a anarffaceof said member, a head having a plana acealigned with the planar face of the said er, holes aligned with the paths of the holes ember, means to hold the planar faces in ustible charge to holes in the head so hambers will be charged as their openthe said certain openings, means in ls'in the head to fire the charged cham- 63* pass the said holes, means to supply water to certain holes in the head under pressure whereby injection occurs as openings of the chamber pass, and means connected to other holes in the head to receive the charges from the chambers.

4. In a power generator, a fixed member, and a movable member, said members being in'"s1ldable sealed relationship to'one another, means to keep them in sealed relation comprising a fluid said chambers, and means to move the one memontact, means to supply the ingredients under pressure operating to press the one against her with respect to the other in continuous repetition of the cycle.

5. A power generator comprising a casing having a head with a machined conical face, a rotor in the casing having a conforming conical face; chambers in the said rotor above and having openings in the rotor face; spaced openings in the head aligned in the path of the rotor chamber openings; means to charge, fire, control the temperature, discharge and scavenge the said chambers through said openings; means tending to press the said faces together comprising means to supp a fluid under pressure to one part of the rotor; means tending to separate the said faces comprising means to supply a fluid under pressure to another part of the rotor; and means to alter the pressure of one said fluid comprising a valve to release or to confine the said fluid; means to exert pressure on the valve comprising a spring operably connected to the valve: and means to vary the pressure on the spring comprising a lever, power means to rotate the rotor. a friction screw connecting the said means and the rotor and operably connected to the said lever, whereby differences in the pressure existins between the faces will be transmitted to the said valve to adjust it.

6. A power generator comprising a casing having a machined face, a rotor in the casing having a conforming face, chambers in the said rotor having openings in the rotor face, spaced openings in the head aligned in the path of the said openings, means to turn the rotor, means to charge with fuel, fire, charge with liquid, discharge, and scavenge the said chambers through the said openings; means tending to press the said faces together comprising a fluid under pressure, means tending to separate the said faces comprising the fluid under pressure and means to adjust the opposing pressures to a slight, frictional contact between the faces comprising means to alter the pressure in one said fluid by release and confinement, and means operated by the degree of pressure between the said faces to produce the said release or confinment of the said fluid.

'7. In a power generator a fixed member and means to vary the steam content of the stages and to scavenge the chamber.

10. A power generator having a rotor and a stator with sliding, abutting faces, pressure means within said chambers tending to separate the said faces, pressure means outside said members tending to press said faces together and means to balance said opposing pressures to prevent the escape of gas or excessive friction between the faces which comprises means actuated by interface resistance to rotation to alter the pressure within said members.

11. A power generator having a rotor and a stator with sliding, abutting faces, pressure means within said members tending to separate the said faces and pressure means outside said members tending to press them together, and pressure means to balance the said opposing forces comprising a balance actuated by change in resistance to rotation between said faces to vary one of said pressure means.

12. A power generator comprising a pressure dome having an interior circular machined face, a rotor within the dome having an exterior matching face, means to turn the rotor, chambers within the rotor having axes parallel to the axis to change the relative pressures bearing on said a movable member, said members being in slidable sealed relationship to each other, means to keep them in sealed relation, means to maintain a substantially constant pressure between them, one said member having combustion chambers, and the other said member having means to charge the combustion chambers, fire the charges, and receive the burned charges from said chambers, and means to move the one chamber with with respect to the other in continuous repetition of the cycle.

8. In a power generating system a chamber capable of containing a combustible material, means for injecting a combustible material into said chamber under pressure, means to ignite the said material in said chamber, means to control the combustion and fortify the charge with steam, means to withdraw the charge in stages, means to increase the steam content of the later stages, and means to seal the chamber comprising a fluid under pressure.

9. .In a power generating system a chamber movable in a closed path and capable of containing a combustible fuel, means along the path of the chamber to fill said chamber with mixed gases under pressure including steam, means to withdraw the charge of the chamber in stages, and

rotor.

l 13. A power generator comprising a pressure dome, having an interior circular machined face,

a rotor within the dome having a matching face,-

means to turn the rotor, chambers having axes parallel to the axis of the rotor and having openings in said face, ports in the dome face for charging, firing and discharging said chambers, means for exerting on said rotor a fluid pressure sufficient to keep the said faces in sealing contact, and means operable by the resistance of said faces to rotation to control the pressure between said faces.

14. A power generator comprising a pressure dome having an interior circular face, ports in said face, a rotor within the dome having a matching face, chambers in the rotor opening in the said matching face, means for charging, firing and -discharging said chambers through said ports, means for exerting on said rotor pressure sufiicient to keep said faces in sealing contact, and means to prevent said pressure from becoming too great.

15. A power generator having a member with a circular face with ports therein, a member having a matching face and chambers opening in said matching face, means to rotate one of said members, means to charge, fire, and discharge said chambers through said ports, and fluid pressure means utilizin the heat of combustion escaping through the walls of said chambers to apply fluid pressure to one of said members whereby to maintain said faces in sealing contact.

16. The method of generating an expansible gas for use in an engine which comprises filling a space of constant dimensions with a combustible charge under pressure, igniting the charge, making successive injections of water into the draw the charge of the chamber in stages, means to increase the steam content of the later stages, means utilizing the heat loss of the chamber to vaporize a liquid and means to maintain the pressure of the vaporized liquid against the outside of the chamber and the pressure joint, whereby the tendency of the hot gas to pass the jointis reduced.

, V .j 18'. A power generator having a rotor and a stator with abutting faces forming aseal, chambers in the rotor containing hot gas under pres-' sure, means to prevent the escape of gas from -6 between the said faces which comprises a pressure chamber covering the joint between said faces and containing a liquid vaporizable at the temperature of the hot rotor, the vaporization of which applies to the outside of said joint a pres- 1 sure of substantial magnitude and reduces the tendency of the hot gas to pass the joint.

FRANK E. SMITH. 

